I am impressed by these photos. How tall are these guys supposed to be?

 

Looks good, I have to admit.

 

Well this looks fantastic.

 

N Scale is supposedly the most popular Japanese scale, and the pins and screws at his joints are looking pretty big, so maybe this guy will be smaller and more affordable than I feared (I know everyone wants a huge, MP sized combiner, but I’d be VERY happy with something more in the 13” range).

Edit - Then again, given that it’s literally called “Series 0 Shinkansenmode,” maaaaaaaayyyyyyybe the train modes are O Scale, since, y’know, it’s literally in the name. Maybe.

 

Glad to see the Trainbots finally getting attention after all this time, alongside those gorgeous Moon Studios ones.

 

It does look to have a whole pile of kibble hanging off it (especially the back), but for me, it all comes down to combined mode. If that is solid and relatively free of kibble, I am likely sold.

 

I want a NYC subway train with graffiti.. they have that?

Also how does he have kibble? he's a g'damn baguette

 

He has kibble because the original toy had kibble, and the animation model had kibble, and it's a part of how the toy functions.

It'd be wrong if he didn't have kibble.

People need to stop treating kibble and backpacks and crap as though they're blasphemous. They've been a part of Transformers in some form or another for almost 40 years now. Get over it.

 

Fuck me thats one sexy ass train man.

Look at this blocky ass gattai ass bread loaf fuckin motherfucker. I love it

 

I\'m sure this excites a lot of people and I\'m glad for them but this just looks like a clunky dude that doesn\'t really fit the masterpiece title. Although I\'m sure takara is gonna have trouble translating any of the combiners in a completely satisfactory way since the 3rd parties have drowned us with gestalts for years. 

 

Oh my... I have no knowledge or love for the character but man... this does look great. I'm a sucker for realistic vehicle modes and I fricking love trains.

 

Lol, that's certainly a way with words.

Also, bolded for emphasis because we can definitely see here where priorities lay. Also given how they staged the initial teaser for these guys at a model train show, instead of the typical toy show venue, should be quite telling. The train mode images show that they really focused on the alt-mode looks first and foremost here, with minimal panel breaks, and a proper, full-length and realistic look. Compare to the 3P version that opts for a trimmer robot mode, but keeps the stumpy toy-esque train model and has lots of overt panel breaks.

 

For all the people talking about the kibble, that's clearly why they came up with this new brandname: MPG. Because they figured out that they couldn't make it to the standards of MP V2 Starscream or V3 Prime, and so they have made a few compromises to make it possible. Personally, I don't mind this approach. Also before people start saying "yeah, well the Third Party companies could do better for cheaper" Keep in mind, most of the 3P companies are owned and run by factory owner's children, and they can cut costs/make things as cheap as they want. Takara has no choice but to pay factory mark-up, so the prices will never be as low as 3P, but honestly I still prefer to support authentic, as they originated all these characters we like, and I prefer the molded or tampo'd Autobot/Decepticon symbols on my figures for starters. Plus, I tend to prefer Takara's engineering as it's usually more stable from my experience, and has less "risk taking" of parts that will bend or break if touched in the wrong way.

All that said, though, the Trainbots were never a favorite of mine--too "Japanese" in an odd way, i.e. like a hybrid of Gundam or something with Transformers. I will be curious to see if they don't tease or show another combiner in the near future, I wouldn't mind if they interspersed a few different combiners' limbs in the release order, so we won't feel like we're held hostage for 2+ years waiting for the Trainbot limbs to come out one-by-one.

Personally, I would really like a Defensor or Computron in this format as those are my two favorites, but knowing Takara, they'd probably do either Devastator, Bruticus or Superion next...

 

The train mode is beautiful, almost spot on.

 

On the original toy, the front of the lower torso bot's train mode came off and attached as Raiden's head. I assume that's how the MPM figure will handle it too.

 

Judging by the size of the screws on the figure it looks MP Carbot Sized to me.

He is looking nice though. Hopefully not too expensive. However, with him being a Triple changer, I'm guessing parts count is going to be a bit high so, it'll probably be in the 180-200 dollar price range.

 

I was thinking the same thing. So perhaps in combined mode he might be like 12-13". Anybody know how big the 3rd party combiners when the individual bots are about 6".

 

I must say, this one Looks really good. The train mode is gorgeous. Sadly this is not the important part because let's be real, he's gonna be in combined mode most of the time. Can't decide without price tag or combiner pictures Takara!

 

Yeah I'm thinking Raiden will be about the size of MP Star Saber when Combined. But at the highest point, probably 14 inches. So about the overall height of Commander Class Jetfire.